| |
Nicolás de Lekuona
Nicolás de Lekuona was born in Ordizia, Guipúzcoa, in 1913.
He spent his childhood and adolescence between Ordizia and San Sebastián.
In 1932, he travelled to Madrid to carry out his studies as a Master Builder.
During this time, he continued to take part in exhibitions, especially in the
Basque Country where he returned after finishing his course.
Then he worked in San Sebastián, in the studio of the architect Florencio Mocoroa.
The Spanish Civil War altered, as it did for many, his dedication to
architecture and art in general.
After Ordizia was occupied by the coup army of Franco, Nicolás joined the same army,
working as a stretcher-bearer.
He used to remove the corpses of the dead soldiers from the battle field with
the help of a mule.
He died in Fruniz, Vizcaya, in 1937, during the bombings of the city by the
same pro-Franco troops, in what it would be called today "friendly fire".
Nicolás de Lekuona left a significant photographic work, but he also did
photomontages.
He was a painter, a complete artist.
His short life, he was 24 when he died, has prevented us from getting to know
his development and seeing a more extensive and mature work.
Even so, his work is excellent.
His point of view is essential as well as his assimilation of the European
artistic tendencies during his time: the early thirties of the twentieth century.
Nicolas absorbed all the ideas of the Russian constructivists, the French and
German surrealists and all of the European photomontage artists.
He understood their meanings and he adapted them to his own style and into the
way he understood his own creative work.
It was a time when Spain was in upheaval, where all the European artistic
movements were found interesting by the young people who were looking towards
the future.
In my opinion, his photographic work particularly stands out.
I think it is exceptional, for the ideas and also for the vision, which was
personal, but at the same time universal, integrated to the prevailing views
in Europe at that time.
His photographs are all individually interesting, but if we consider his work
as a whole, it shows the clear style it tended towards.
This, reflected in the work of a twenty year old man, makes me believe that
his photographs didn’t follow the ruling trends of a particular moment in time,
but they are the result of the reflection and complete understanding of the
concepts that underline as a support of his work.
His photomontages are also important, but in this case, they tend towards a
different direction to the ones followed by the European artists of his time,
which were likely to include social and political criticisms.
The work of Nicolas de Lekuona follows a more aesthetic tendency, showing a
more personal and intimate point of view.
His work has become widely known only recently as it was almost forgotten.
We should be grateful for all the efforts people and institutions are making
to recover, circulate and show the works of various artists, photographers or not.
In Spain, as well as other countries, these efforts to recover and dignify the
work of the photographers from the past, is needed and is essential to get to
know our past better and how some of these unsettled but significant people
experienced those times.
The future of photography must lean on the experiences that we have day by day,
but our work must be connected to the past, that is the only way that cultures
of every country, of every geographical area will have their own peculiarities.
They will be richer for it.
This profusion of points of view will prevent the globalisation that surrounds
us from binding us with the same views, same tastes and same opinions.
Manuel Rodriguez
September 2005
manuelrr2010@terra.es
|
|
